15 September 2008
I think it's time to talk a bit about my unit and what it's made of so that if I start using Army lingo you all will be well versed and up to speed.
First, I am deploying with a Brigade. The Army got away from deploying divisions because it's not always necessary to have an entire division, but only portions of the divisions. Old divisions were created with Battalion sized units to include infantry and other combat arms units (armor, aviation, field artillery, air defense artillery) and supporting units (engineers, quartermaster, ordinance, transportation, medical, etc). Units don't really need thousands of supporting Soldiers deployed to a battle space, so the Army developed Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs) which are Brigade sized elements (about 4-5 thousand Soldiers) that have a little of everything and can deploy independently of the Division. This is one of the reasons divisions aren't all on the same post anymore, the 2ID that I was in in Korea had the 3 other brigades in the division at Ft. Lewis Washington, the 25th that I'm in now has 2 in Hawaii and 2 here in Alaska.
There are usually about 4-6 combat arms battalions in a BCT and two more supporting battalions. Stryker brigades have 5 combat arms units, three infantry battalions, one Calvary troop (Cav. is scouts and they like to be called troops...and wear cowboy hats and spurs, they're a very proud bunch), and one field artillery battery. BCTs also have a Brigade Troops Battalion (BTB sometimes a BSTB, the S for Special...not short bus special though) and a Brigade Support Battalion (BSB). The BTB has the engineers, Military Police (MPs), finance, adjutant generals, and any other miscellaneous support the unit will need for their combat mission. The BSB is the logistical support battalion which has all the quartermaster (food, water, fuel, and most other materials needed for the mission), ordinance (ammunition and maintenance), transportation, and medical support.
So now we have Brigade sized elements deploying allowing for better control of the units, more defined support, and better training since the Brigade trains as it will deploye. I'm part of the 1st Stryker Brigade Stryker Combat Team for the 25th Infantry Division (1/25 SBCT). The 25th Infantry Division is nikenamed the electric strawberry because of the patch. All Army patches represent a Division or other higher level of command. We wear the patch of the Division we are currently under on our left sholders and the patch of the unit you were deployed with on your right. In ACUs the patches are black and the terquoise-ish color of the ACUs, but in the dress uniform (which is going out of the Army arrsional of uniforms in about 2 years) the patches are in full color. The 25th ID patch is red and yellow and shaped like a strawberry with a lightning bolt through it, thus the electric strawberry.
Okay, so we have our SBCT, our 25th ID 1st SBCT. Strykers are the newer combat vehicle for the Army. They are like tanks as far as the armored body and general design. They have big guns mounted like an Abrams or Bradley, but also have smaller guns that are found on regular trucks like the MK19 (pronounced Mark 19 - automatic grenade launcher) and the .50 cal (M2 - for 50 caliber). They run on wheels rather than tracks, making them far more mobile than tanks, especially in urban warfare. There are several different types of Strykers as far as ones specially designed for reconnaissance, medical evacuation, troop carriers, launching mortars, anything the combat guys need they make for the strykers. The first picture of the stryker is one with a cage around it which is designed to catch RPGs and other flying exploding things so that they explode away from the stryker and cause less damage to the stryker and thus it's occupants. The second one you can see that inside it's very similar to a tank if you've ever been so privlaged to be in a tank.
If you remember my unit in Korea, the 1/2 HBCT, 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team for the 2nd Infantry Division. Heavy is all the tanks, Strykers are considered more of a medium infantry unit if you think in terms of heavy are big heavy tanks and light are airborne units with infantry guys who walk the streets rather than roll in vehicles. So now we have HBCTs and SBCTs!
I'm working on a diagram for how the support part works. It's not super complicated, but I like pictures. But on a Brigade level hopefully it's a little less muddy. You'll hopefully at least know what to look for now if you see units in the news.
First, I am deploying with a Brigade. The Army got away from deploying divisions because it's not always necessary to have an entire division, but only portions of the divisions. Old divisions were created with Battalion sized units to include infantry and other combat arms units (armor, aviation, field artillery, air defense artillery) and supporting units (engineers, quartermaster, ordinance, transportation, medical, etc). Units don't really need thousands of supporting Soldiers deployed to a battle space, so the Army developed Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs) which are Brigade sized elements (about 4-5 thousand Soldiers) that have a little of everything and can deploy independently of the Division. This is one of the reasons divisions aren't all on the same post anymore, the 2ID that I was in in Korea had the 3 other brigades in the division at Ft. Lewis Washington, the 25th that I'm in now has 2 in Hawaii and 2 here in Alaska.
There are usually about 4-6 combat arms battalions in a BCT and two more supporting battalions. Stryker brigades have 5 combat arms units, three infantry battalions, one Calvary troop (Cav. is scouts and they like to be called troops...and wear cowboy hats and spurs, they're a very proud bunch), and one field artillery battery. BCTs also have a Brigade Troops Battalion (BTB sometimes a BSTB, the S for Special...not short bus special though) and a Brigade Support Battalion (BSB). The BTB has the engineers, Military Police (MPs), finance, adjutant generals, and any other miscellaneous support the unit will need for their combat mission. The BSB is the logistical support battalion which has all the quartermaster (food, water, fuel, and most other materials needed for the mission), ordinance (ammunition and maintenance), transportation, and medical support.
So now we have Brigade sized elements deploying allowing for better control of the units, more defined support, and better training since the Brigade trains as it will deploye. I'm part of the 1st Stryker Brigade Stryker Combat Team for the 25th Infantry Division (1/25 SBCT). The 25th Infantry Division is nikenamed the electric strawberry because of the patch. All Army patches represent a Division or other higher level of command. We wear the patch of the Division we are currently under on our left sholders and the patch of the unit you were deployed with on your right. In ACUs the patches are black and the terquoise-ish color of the ACUs, but in the dress uniform (which is going out of the Army arrsional of uniforms in about 2 years) the patches are in full color. The 25th ID patch is red and yellow and shaped like a strawberry with a lightning bolt through it, thus the electric strawberry.
Okay, so we have our SBCT, our 25th ID 1st SBCT. Strykers are the newer combat vehicle for the Army. They are like tanks as far as the armored body and general design. They have big guns mounted like an Abrams or Bradley, but also have smaller guns that are found on regular trucks like the MK19 (pronounced Mark 19 - automatic grenade launcher) and the .50 cal (M2 - for 50 caliber). They run on wheels rather than tracks, making them far more mobile than tanks, especially in urban warfare. There are several different types of Strykers as far as ones specially designed for reconnaissance, medical evacuation, troop carriers, launching mortars, anything the combat guys need they make for the strykers. The first picture of the stryker is one with a cage around it which is designed to catch RPGs and other flying exploding things so that they explode away from the stryker and cause less damage to the stryker and thus it's occupants. The second one you can see that inside it's very similar to a tank if you've ever been so privlaged to be in a tank.
If you remember my unit in Korea, the 1/2 HBCT, 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team for the 2nd Infantry Division. Heavy is all the tanks, Strykers are considered more of a medium infantry unit if you think in terms of heavy are big heavy tanks and light are airborne units with infantry guys who walk the streets rather than roll in vehicles. So now we have HBCTs and SBCTs!
I'm working on a diagram for how the support part works. It's not super complicated, but I like pictures. But on a Brigade level hopefully it's a little less muddy. You'll hopefully at least know what to look for now if you see units in the news.
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